202 – Valley of Fear (5)
Looking at the expression on the face of her friend Holmes, who smiled as he said those words, Jane Watson unconsciously swallowed and passed the neck. Although he later regretted his actions, Watson had reasons beyond his control.
For a moment, my friend’s expression seemed like he was facing an evil villain.
Of course, when this eccentric friend of his often teased him for pranks or mocked the ignorance of others, he often looked scary or like a mischievous rascal.
However, the expression on his friend’s face that Watson caught a glimpse of was different from that kind of expression, an expression that made people instinctively turn off.
Yes, it felt like I was face to face with an evil snake. A poisonous snake that can be seen at a glance with extremely vicious venom and enjoys biting people.
More than anything, the friend who smiled like that was beautiful to anyone who saw it, so it made me even more reluctant.
But Watson could secretly agree with what Holmes said. Clearly, Mr. Moriarty and his friend Holmes may have more in common than one might think.
Holmes’ villain-like expression, which immediately made Watson nervous, was clearly very similar to that of Professor James Moriarty, the villain who had ravaged his heart.
However, Watson did not bother to reveal the facts or the sentiments he felt. It may have been an instinctive defense mechanism.
Instead, he opened his mouth to carefully focus on the incident. Of course, he also didn’t forget to look around him to make sure the people around him didn’t hear him.
“That… then…… As always, the professor… “Does this mean you’re going to send another assassin?”
“… Nothing is certain yet, Watson. After all, it would take even a teacher some time to receive information about a murder that occurred in this rural area some distance south of London. Of course…… “You will know right away that the assassination was a failure, because you will at least know who the assassin was.”
“Then what?”
“But I can’t be sure of anything, right now. Therefore… You have to move carefully, Watson. You… You may not remember, but you said you read all the records you wrote, right? Then we can anticipate what dangers there might be.”
At his friend’s words, Watson instinctively and unconsciously looked toward the window in the room and moved his body toward the blind spot where the inside could not be seen from outside the window. He couldn’t remember exactly what his friend was talking about.
True to her word, she had to sacrifice nearly a year’s worth of memories and memories to help her friend. But her records were there, and Watson knew her own adventures in that lost time.
Although there was no guarantee that Miss Moran would come all the way here right now, her record alone was enough to put Watson in fear of her silent sniping.
Holmes laughed when he saw Watson’s actions. However, unlike usual, she continued her explanation a little kindly, as if she was genuinely trying to relieve her friend’s anxiety.
“You don’t have to worry too much about our horny werewolf, Watson. At least for now. No matter how good a sniper he is, we’re not even on the first floor, right? There are no tall buildings around here. First of all, solving the case comes first. So from now on… “Let’s share the work.”
“What should I do?”
No matter how much Holmes often treated him like a strange animal, Watson already considered himself Holmes’ only friend and assistant. Of course, unlike Holmes, who often treated him coldly, his inner thoughts were similar to Watson.
More than anything, Holmes ‘trusted’ the existence of Watson. Of course, this also includes the belief that Watson’s intelligence is often comparable to that of a goldfish, but there are also positive aspects.
“I guess I’ll have to stay here for one night. “Once you’re taken to the guest room, Watson, you can sneak away and talk to Douglas’s dead wife.”
“Which one? “Aren’t you actually alive?”
“… Watson, I believe you wouldn’t ask that directly. You heard it while inspecting the site and interrogating people. “Maybe not Inspector McDonald, but what do the police here think?”
Watson thought briefly about the test, which was not a question from Holmes. The answer was simple. Watson was ordinary, and he had momentary suspicions similar to those of ordinary police officers.
Apart from Holmes’ hypothesis that the deceased might be alive, the human relationships in this mansion were a bit strange.
Servants and maids were left out of the discussion.
First of all, Mr. Douglas, who was officially murdered, was quite old and had remarried his current wife.
The wife was now a young widow, and coincidentally, a friend of Mr. Douglas, who was around the same age as her wife, was living in her mansion.
And the servants quietly whispered to her that Mr. Douglas had had a fight with that friend not long ago.
Naturally, a political drama occurred in Watson’s mind.
“What you are thinking is clearly visible on your face. Ha, that must be your advantage, Watson. It doesn’t mean it’s bad. However, when I look at the attitude of her wife and her friend, I get the feeling that they are trying to induce it that way.”
“… Why? “Nothing good will come of being investigated.”
“Anyway, if they didn’t kill them and someone isn’t trying to blame them, they will only be suspected. Even stupid police officers know that they can’t take someone to court based on that level of suspicion. Rather, use it… “It could be hiding the truth.”
“What is the truth?”
“I don’t know exactly. Probably why the real culprit tried to kill him and that Douglas is actually alive? What is certain, Watson, is that if the deceased is alive, and if the deceased has disguised himself as himself, it is difficult to do this alone. Of course there will be collaborators. Also, the servants testified that no one came out before or after the body was discovered. It’s probably not wrong. Perhaps Mr. Douglas… “If he’s alive, he’s still in this mansion.”
After listening to Holmes’ explanation, Watson knew what he had to do. Fortunately, Watson also had that level of understanding.
“I’m telling you to consider that carefully. Okay.”
“Thank goodness. Watson, you are probably better at this than me. “I would be wary if an investigator asked about this, but fortunately, Watson, you are the most sociable person I know, and people tend to let their guard down when it comes to stupid beauties.”
“… “It’s all good, but aren’t you treating me too harshly?”
“It’s a compliment, Watson, that you put it in the category of people. I guess Lt. Macdonald’s stupid comments might actually have been foreshadowing. I never thought I would find a medieval secret passageway in a place like this. “I will investigate the mansion, so you can comfort the deceased’s wife and be her companion, Watson.”
Watson was dissatisfied with Holmes’ treatment of him, but knowing that his resistance was pointless, Watson began his work.
The deceased’s exhausted wife sat quietly in her drawing room, clearly looking like a person in deep sorrow. However, perhaps because of the hypothesis he heard from Holmes, Watson felt that it was somewhat of a forced performance.
However, Watson quietly approached the woman like a young lady trying to have a normal conversation at a social gathering, and as Holmes had expected, he started sipping her tea while talking slowly but little by little.
Although Mrs. Douglas was five years older than Watson, she was able to treat them as similar ages, and the two soon found themselves having a slightly more in-depth conversation.
Holmes’ high opinion of Watson’s social skills was certainly not wrong.
More than anything, she was able to allay the wariness of her opponents because Watson herself was a beauty worthy of admiration as long as she kept her mouth shut wherever she went except gambling houses and racetracks.
Being a witch also played a role. People were often ignorant about witches and wizards, but married women sometimes secretly expected fortune telling from witches.
However, Holmes made one mistake.
Mrs. Douglas said she had been married to the deceased for five years, which meant she had been married when Watson was now his age.
Based on this era, she could be said to have married a little later.
Unlike Holmes, who was not interested in the old-fashioned institution of marriage and focused on her own life only with her teacher Moriarty, Jane Watson was an ordinary person regardless of her eccentricities.
Naturally, Watson himself had no choice but to care about marriage, and was influenced by Mrs. Douglas, who talked as if she was reminiscing about the process from meeting the deceased to proposal to marriage, and focused only on this topic.
“Miss Watson, if you are still a witch… I heard you never get old. Of course, I can’t say that it’s too late for me, and Miss Watson now, but there’s no need to be too hasty, because Miss Watson will welcome any man.”
“Um…. “What do you think of someone who is slightly older than you?”
“I’m 20 years younger than my husband? “I am speaking as a senior, but since such things are minor, I think it is okay as long as the difference is not too big.”
Until late at night, Watson focused only on her marriage story.
The next day, Watson had to look at Mojiri, who was not good at what Holmes asked her to do and was of less use than an ornamental goldfish, but fortunately she had no trouble solving the case.
Holmes discovered the secret passage and solved the truth of the case by revealing Mr. Douglas, who was hiding there, to the public.
But what happened after that was clearly a problem.
